Tech company pledges bitcoin donation to build youth home

November 10, 2017

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A tech company in Eugene has pledged to donate $2 million to construct a facility for homeless teenagers in western Oregon, but the gift will be made in bitcoin.

CBT Nuggets, an information technology training company, plans to cover the full costs through the independent digital currency to construct a 20-room facility to house teenage boys, The Register-Guard reported .

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County is among the coalition of organizations working on the housing project. The coalition is currently in the process of converting a former Eugene church into a 13-room home for girls.

Paul Neville, a spokesman for the organization, said the bitcoin gift is a first, and they’re confident they will be able to sell the bitcoins to a broker to acquire the necessary funding for the project.

Under an agreement with the tech company, the organization will receive the bitcoins after it chooses a location for the youth home and provides a design and operation plan. Thanks to this gift, the facility could open in early 2019, Neville said.

Shelly Galvin, the company’s director of corporate social responsibility, said the project was selected because the founders of CBT Nuggets like to support programs geared for “helping people help themselves.” Galvin declined to answer questions on why the donation is being made in bitcoin.